1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to archery equipment and more particularly to an improved archery arrow rest and side pressure plate assembly.
2. Prior Art
Conventional arrow rests generally comprise a ledge or arm extending out into the arrow window defined by the archery bow riser sidewall and shelf above the handle and through which the arrow passes when shot from the bow. The arrow shaft while on the arrow rest is usually held away from the riser sidewall by a cushion plunger such as is illustrated in a number of U.S. patents, including U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,935,854; 4,236,497; 3,865,096; 4,398,528; 4,489,704 and 4,332,232.
The cushion plunger is usually a hollow rod threaded transversely through the riser and extending into the window, with a blunt tip slideably received therein and biased outwardly therefrom by an internal coil spring. When the arow is shot, the S-curve (archers' paradox) it normally assumes as it bends from the sudden bowstring force applied to its rear end is diminished by the cushion plunger, the plunger absorbing some of the arrow shaft's side thrust. Archers' paradox, before the advent of the cushion plunger, was thought to be desirable so as to allow the fletched rear end of the arrow to bend sufficiently far so as to clear the bow and rest without striking them. The cushion plunger, by reducing S-curving of the arrow on its way to the target, increased the risk of the arrow hitting the rest or riser sidewall and careening off-line. Moreover, the cushion plunger characteristically intersects the arrow shaft at a right angle, just where the rest is also holding the arrow and therefore narrows the clearance space in the window for the arrow. It also puts considerable drag on the arrow. Although cushion plungers improve arrow performance in some respects, they leave other problems unresolved.
Accordingly, there is a need for a new and improved arrow rest and side pressure plate assembly which will hold the arrow in place, preferably to prevent roll-off of the arrow while the bow is being transported, a common problem with most conventional arrow rests, and which will also increase the clearance of the arrow from the rest, side pressure plate and riser sidewall, while improving the speed and accuracy of the arrow flight and minimizing arrow wear.